This review is being written after I have been wearing the watch for two weeks. I purchased the watch brand new, and my understanding is that very few of these have made it to the US, so I thought you might like to have some initial feedback based on actual daily wear.

My other watch is the standard FF with the X-71 bracelet, which I have had for a year or so. When I first tried that watch on with the Blancpain fabric strap, I did not like it, since it flopped around on my wrist, so I waited for the bracelet so that it would balance out the weight of the watch, which it did, perfectly.

But when I first saw pictures of the Complete Calendar Flyback, with the guilloche, and the blue dial and bezel, and the complications of the FF Calendar, I fell in love at first sight!

I was worried prior to buying it that the watch was too thick, at 17+ mm, and that without a bracelet, (the X-71 for the regular FF does not fit due to the increased thickness), it would be too heavy and flop around on my wrist. But after wearing it, many things became apparent to me that are not obvious from any of the photos or written descriptions:

First, the strap and tang buckle of the original FF, which I found caused the watch to flop on my wrist, has been replaced by a very similar strap, but instead of a tang there is an absolutely gorgeous, perfectly made and finished deployant buckle, with the release button built in to the side of the buckle, and a second deployant that could serve as a diver's extension. There is a screw instead of a tang to set the length of the strap, so there is no bulge at all on the wrist.

The strap is extremely comfortable, and even if it is somewhat loose there is no flopping of the watch. Plus, since the strap is securely attached to the deployant by the screw, it will not fall off or get lost, as could happen with the tang buckle version.

The watch fits very smoothly and close to the wrist, and does not, as I had feared, perch on the wrist like a cupcake! It actually looks no different in height than my regular FF, and without the bracelet, it weighs a whole lot less!

Next, the assembly and finishing of the watch is beyond my (high) expectations. The operation of the chronograph buttons is incredibly smooth, and the flyback is instantaneous. Plus, since the chronograph buttons can be operated underwater, there is no need to loosen a locking ring prior to using them, which for me, at least, greatly expands the number of times I actually do use the chronograph function.

The operation of the bezel is perfect with just enough resistance and a solid detent. The lume on the hands and bezel is just as amazing as on the standard FF, lighting up like a beacon, and staying readable throughout the night.

Although the face of the watch appears busy when looking at the details of the date windows and the chronograph dials, all it takes is a quick look at the watch to tell the time. Due to the size and placement of the indices, and the (totally elegant IMHO) shape of the hour and minute hands, with the amount of lume increasing towards the ends, the time is immediately apparent with a second’s glance, and the rest of the watch fades into the background with a very pleasing blue reflection from the guilloche.

A cautionary note, however, is that the calendar days around the circumference of the dial are about as small as can be seen, especially if you are over 40, as I am! Fortunately, with bifocals they are discernible. A date window the size of the one on the regular FF would be much more readable, but my guess is that with the moon phase, annual calendar and flyback chronograph complications, there is just not enough real estate on the front of the movement to add the date window.

And about the movement - the watch has a large sapphire window, and the movement is clearly visible around the chambered Nautilus shaped automatic winding weight. You can clearly see the column wheel and balance wheel assemblies, and the finishing on the different components is just gorgeous!

This watch uses a newly-developed movement, the in-house Caliber 66bf8, which runs at 28,800 vph, is made up of 448 parts (!), and has 37 Jewels.

Finally, the under-lug pushers to change the day, date, month and moonphase are just as smooth to operate as the chronograph buttons, while still having a positive indication that the date or moon phase has advanced. All it takes is a gentle push with your fingernail. Much better than tiny pushers on the sides of the watch which need a special pusher and run the risk of marring the visible finish of the watch.

Calendar observations: The day of the week window starts moving about 8:30 – 9 PM, and finishes around midnight, while the date indicator starts much closer to midnight and changes much faster. The moonphase moves very smoothly and imperceptibly (as you would expect), and has enough of a polished finish to make it noticeable without being flashy.

The rate adjustment on my watch is amazing – seven seconds fast in two weeks, on the wrist! The watch is not even listed as COSC certified, so this is certainly a nod to Blancpain's practice of having each watch built and regulated by one watchmaker!

Furthermore, the rate is unchanged with continuous use of the chronograph over a several day period! I don’t have a Witschi, so I can’t speak to the amplitude, etc., but the watch is easily as accurate as an ordinary quartz watch, not to mention well within COSC standards!

The outstanding rate makes up for the fact that, unlike the standard FF, there is no hack mechanism, so setting the time to an outside source means backing up the setting to stop the running seconds. (I use the US Naval Observatory master time clock at http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/simpletime.html)

Well, that’s all I have for now – I hope that this is helpful for anyone considering purchasing this beautiful watch!